•  Forts in the Rio Grande Region, Central New Mexico--CLICK map for NEXT...

The lower Rio Grande was home to Fort Craig 20 miles south of San Antonio from 1854 to 1885. Its soldiers protected travelers along the Jornada del Muerto route between northern and southern New Mexico. Fort McRae, on a mesa overlooking Elephant Butte Lake, served from 1863 to 1876. Five miles northwest of Hatch was Fort Thorn from 1853 to 1859--there are no visible remains of Fort Thorn today.

Fort Selden 17 miles north of Las Cruces has been located near the Rio Grande since 1865. Young Douglas McArthur lived here in 1884. It was abandoned in 1895 but today the ruins are a State Monument. Fort Fillmore was 6 miles southeast of Mesilla, just west of present-day I-10. From 1851 to 1862 it was the base for operations against Apaches.

New Mexico Wanderings